7:00pm Wednesday 19th July 2006
By Nafeesa Shan
A BOY was turned away from a supermarket for not wearing a T-shirt after he tried to buy a pint of milk during the heatwave.
Daniel Tolmie, 10, had taken his top off as temperatures, which are due to reach 32 degrees celsius today, began to soar.
His outraged mother Lisa has hit out at Tesco's Hill Street store in Blackburn for kicking him out after she had sent him on an errand on Sunday.
But a spokesman for Tesco, which also has an East Lancashire store in Burnley, said its national policy was introduced following hygiene complaints from customers.
Daniel had barely entered the store when he was told by a security guard to leave because he did not have a top on.
Daniel's mother, Lisa Tolmie, is a regular shopper at Tesco and sent her son inside after 3.30pm while she was parking her car because the store was about to close at 4pm.
Lisa, of River Street, Blackburn said: "I knew the store was going to close soon so my son went in to get the bottle of milk. There were only 20 odd people in the store."
A notice outside the store asks that customers ensure that they are fully clothed when entering.
Lisa said: "I think the whole thing is ridiculous. He's a little boy, I can't see him as a threat, it's not like he's a grown man with tattoos or anything."
Lisa, a full time mother of four, said: "What are they going to do when a three year-old goes into Tesco with no top on? Turn them away? What if a baby goes in and has no top on?
"My son was devastated, he likes to feel independent. You should have seen his little face. Daniel said to me that he doesn't want to go into the store anymore.
"I spoke to two checkout girls and I asked them about the policy and they found it funny. I just want to say how pathetic they are."
A Tesco spokesperson said: "During the summer months, we do sometimes receive complaints from customers who are offended or have concerns about other semi-clothed customers around fresh food in our stores.
"We therefore have a common-sense approach to this issue and our store staff use their discretion to balance the needs of all shoppers."
A spokesperson for Blackburn with Darwen Council, which does not operate a similar policy, said: "The council does not impose health and safety requirements on stores with regards to clothing. This would be a store policy."
Loriane Jones, general manager of The Mall Blackburn, said: "Normally we would ask people to wear tops.We would expect them to have something on but because of the unusally hot weather we do not have an issue with it."
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